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Former Williams F1 CEO Adam Parr claims Ecclestone wanted him out

January 3, 2013

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Adam Parr, the former CEO of Williams F1, implies in a new book that he was effectively forced out of his job by Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone.

Parr, a 41-year-old company management whiz, educated at Eton College and Cambridge University, was hired as the CEO of Williams Grand Prix Holdings in November 2006. His reputation was on a distinct rise in the paddock going into the 2012 season, but he suddenly resigned from the Formula One team in March, citing family reasons.

At the time, negotiations had recently begun between the teams, the FIA and Ecclestone's Formula One group of companies over extending the Concorde Agreement, the contract that sets out all the commercial arrangements in Grand Prix racing that was to expire on 31 December.

Parr spent much of the summer writing his book, The Art of War: Five Years in Formula One. In it, he says of his departure: "I had resigned that week, rightly or wrongly believing that Ecclestone had told my board that no Concorde offer would be forthcoming while I was running Williams. Under the circumstances, I chose to stand down so that the team could make the best deal possible with him. The offer arrived the day after my resignation had been announced."